


third first date

by DJBunn3



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Humor, Ifrit Matsuoka Rin, M/M, mermaid nanase haruka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 15:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19009021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJBunn3/pseuds/DJBunn3
Summary: The thing is, Rin never thought he’d get this far.He never thought he’d find someone as wonderful as Nanase Haruka. He never thought he’d work up the courage to ask him on a date. And he never thought Haru would say yes if he ever did ask. But he did find Haru, and he did find the courage, and most surprisingly of all, Haru did say yes. It might have been nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing and he may have almost burst into flames when he’d asked, but he’d choked it out somehow. The hard part should be over, right?Wrong.





	third first date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aenya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aenya/gifts).



The thing is, Rin never thought he’d get this far.

He never thought he’d find someone as wonderful as Nanase Haruka. He never thought he’d work up the courage to ask him on a date. And he never thought Haru would say  _ yes _ if he ever did ask. But he did find Haru, and he did find the courage, and most surprisingly of all, Haru did say yes. It might have been nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing and he may have almost burst into flames when he’d asked, but he’d choked it out somehow. The hard part should be over, right?

Wrong.

The thing is, it’s been a whole week since he’d asked Haru out, and he’s still scrambling for an idea of where he should take him. He’s been wracking his brain every spare minute he has, and still nothing good enough comes to mind, no matter how hard he tries or how many first date tip sites he scours hours after the last few students have left Iwatobi Magic Academy’s enchanted library, because he wouldn’t be caught dead asking online lifestyle gurus the best way to impress his crush on the first date.

Sousuke, however, he has far fewer reservations about. Actually, he might not have  _ enough _ reservations about asking him, because his friend is getting pretty fed up by the fifth day of Rin’s week-long brainstorming session.

“Don’t overthink it, idiot,” Sousuke snaps, hitting Rin in the head with a little blob of water he’s been levitating in the air for the past few minutes. It stings a little, but it’s not enough to hurt him badly, and they both know it.

“What am I supposed to do, then?” he snaps back, turning around in his desk chair to glare. They’re in their shared dorm room, Sousuke with a book splayed open next to him where he lies on the bottom bunk (which happens to be  _ Rin’s _ bunk, but he’s too distracted to bitch about it) and Rin at his desk with a pile of math homework he’s been ignoring for the last fifteen minutes. “Everything I come up with is either too much or not enough, or it’s too hard or too easy, or… I don’t know. I just want it to be perfect.”

“Well, there’s your first problem,” Sousuke says, plucking a new orb of water from his drinking glass. “You can’t expect a first date to go perfect. There’s no such thing. Remember your last first date, when you knocked that whole pan of pasta sauce all over your best pants, and everyone thought you’d just come back from killing someone?”

“I remember, Sousuke,” Rin grouses, sending his roommate a dirty look with a bit of fire behind it. (Literally.) “That’s exactly  _ why _ I want this date to be perfect.”

“Just take him somewhere he’d like,” Sousuke says, unbothered, flicking the water orb into his mouth. “Or if that doesn’t work, I can always sing him into falling in love with you.”

“Ha.”

“Hey, if you’re asking for help, the least I can do is offer it to you.”

“Fucking sirens,” Rin sighs, dropping his head onto the desk as if it’ll help stir the thoughts around in his brain.  _ Somewhere Haru would like, huh? _ He gathers what little information he has about his crush and turns it into a list, going down each item one by one. Haru always brings mackerel for lunch, according to that little first year who’s always hanging around him--Hazuki something-or-other. Not that Rin has asked, or anything. Hazuki is just very loud in his disapproval of Haru’s lunch. He’s also good at art, but Rin doesn’t know if being good at something translates to liking that thing, especially in Haru’s case.

_ Of course! _ he thinks suddenly, lifting his head off the desk so fast he almost gets dizzy. Haru  _ is _ part mermaid, similar to Sousuke. He must love water the same way Sousuke does, too, right? Maybe they could sign themselves out over the weekend and go to the beach, walk on the sand and watch the sun dip below the waves together. In fact, that sounds pretty romantic, now that he’s thinking about it.

He grabs his phone off the corner of his desk and taps in Haru’s name, biting his lip as Haru’s straight-faced contact photo pops up on his screen.  _ Hey, _ he types,  _ What are you doing this Saturday? _

_ Nothing, _ Haru replies almost instantly.  _ Why? _

_ I’m taking you out, _ Rin tells him, and when Haru says  _ Okay _ he feels a wave of relief wash over him. He’s finally doing it, after a whole week of waiting.

He hopes to god it’ll go well.

* * *

“And… We’re here!”

Rin gazes out over the vast ocean, waves licking the edge of the beach and washing shells onto the sand. He hasn’t been to the sea since he was a kid, and yet everything is exactly as he’d pictured it in his head. The sun shines brightly on each wave, reflecting light back into his eyes, and children and their families play on the beach side by side.

“Rin,” Haru says flatly. “Your hands.”

“What? Oh.” Rin hurriedly takes his hands away from where they’d been covering Haru’s eyes, eagerly awaiting his reaction. Haru’s never been a very expressive person, but his eyes seem to light up when he catches sight of the ocean.

“I thought we could spend the day on the beach,” Rin explains. “Since you’re part mermaid and all, I figured you’d like being near the sea.”

Haru takes a step forwards, his feet meeting the sand one after the other. Rin follows him anxiously, never taking his eyes off of Haru’s face, which is still focused on the ocean. He looks absolutely spellbound.

“What do you think?” Rin asks at last, too nervous to keep quiet any longer.

“Can I swim?” Haru asks eagerly, turning to face him.

“Um, sure?” Rin agrees hesitantly. “But I didn’t pack any towels or anyth… Wait, Haru!”

He stares incredulously as Haru sprints towards the ocean without a backwards glance, peeling his shirt off and throwing it to the side as he runs down the slope of hot sand to the water.

“Jeez,” Rin sighs, rubbing a hand down his face as he follows at a slower pace. And here he’d thought  _ Sousuke _ was the water-crazy one.

Haru is already waist-deep in the ocean when Rin reaches the end of the dry part of the beach. He stares uncertainly down at the wet, dark sand in front of him, setting one foot down on top of it tentatively. His skin tingles where it makes contact with the water, and he winces, retreating a couple of paces quickly.

Instead of pushing forward, he chooses to stay on dry land and watch as Haru dives under the water, his dark hair turning glossy and smooth as he emerges. His eyes seem almost impossibly bluer when he opens them, and Rin wonders if it’s something to do with the ocean or if he’s just imagining it. He certainly looks at home in the water, moving about gracefully despite the way his clothes hang heavy and wet on his body. A few bluish scales pop up on his hips, but he’s still standing on steady legs when he turns back to look at Rin.

“Someone’s eager,” Rin says with a laugh as Haru reaches up to brush wet hair out of his eyes.

“I like the ocean,” Haru replies simply. “It’s hot out. It feels nice.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Haru pauses, turning fully towards Rin. “Aren’t you coming in?” he asks, his voice almost quizzical for once as he lifts a hand out of the sea, inviting Rin to come closer.

“Oh, um.” Rin scratches the back of his head, shifting his weight around awkwardly and feeling the sand move beneath his feet. “I can’t really do that.”

“What do you mean?” Haru asks with a frown, his hand dropping to his side.

“Water and I don’t really get along,” Rin continues, staring down at where the water meets Haru’s wrist. “You know, since I’m part ifrit and all.”

“But you said you liked to swim…?” Haru seems more confused than ever, a tiny crease forming between his brows.

“I do!” Rin explains hurriedly, waving his hands around. “I’m just more used to swimming in lava pools. Water kinda hurts when it’s not hot enough.”

“Oh.”

Haru looks down at the water around him, then up at Rin. He seems disappointed, and torn, halfway between staying in his precious ocean and coming back to land to be with Rin. Rin would be offended, if he hadn’t seen the way mermaids like Haru are attached to their bodies of water. The fact that he’s even considering coming back to land should be a compliment--he’d be flattered if he hadn’t planned out a whole date that can’t even happen because of stupid biology.

“You can stay in, if you want,” he offers, trying to hide the disappointment in his expression. “Find me a pretty shell or something.”

“Should I look for a magic hair comb while I’m at it?” Haru replies, sarcasm lacing his words. “Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t swim in the ocean?”

“I didn’t think you’d just strip and jump in first thing,” Rin explains, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess I didn’t think this through.”

Haru doesn’t speak for a minute, eyes trained on the water around him. “I’ll look for a shell,” he decides at last, his tone almost apologetic. “Wait for me here.”

“I will,” Rin promises, his heart sinking as he watches Haru turn and dive underwater.  _ Looks like we won’t be enjoying a romantic walk on the beach after all, _ he thinks with a sigh.

_ Oh, well. At least I’ll have a souvenir. _

* * *

“Why would you go to the ocean, idiot?” Sousuke pesters him, arms crossed as he leans against the doorframe.

“You said to take him somewhere he’d like!” Rin protests, glaring back. “I figured, he’s a mermaid, so he must like the beach. I didn’t think he’d just want to swim all day!”

“God,” Sousuke sighs, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Okay, forget what I said before. You should take him somewhere that represents you. Let him get to know you a little bit more, huh?”

“What, should I take him to my lava pool?” Rin grouses. “Let him dry out on the beach?”

“As much as I want to see that,” Sousuke admits, “you know that’s not what I meant. Why don’t you introduce him to your mom? I bet she’d be happy to meet your precious mermaid.”

“Shut up,” Rin grumbles, slouching over and letting his hair fall into his face. “... You think?”

“Sure,” Sousuke says with a one-shouldered shrug. “Now be quiet and help me finish this spell analysis. We don’t have all day.”

* * *

“You must be Haruka!” Miyako exclaims, throwing her arms around Haru as soon as the door swings open. “Oh, it’s so nice to meet you!”

“Mom!” Rin groans, slapping a hand to his forehead. “Your manners!”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Haru grits out, his face scrunched in pain.

“Please, come in!” Miyako lets go so quickly Haru almost falls over, pushing the door open wide. “Gou, look who came to visit! It’s Rin’s friend from school!”

Rin barely restrains himself from groaning again, following Haru into the house stalkily. Gou is standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a polite smile on her face.

“Welcome to our home, Haruka-senpai,” she says, bowing so that her ponytail drops over her shoulder. “Please, make yourself at home.”

“Thank you,” Haruka says, sniffs, then wipes at his nose.

“Should I make some tea?” Miyako asks, eyes alight. “Haruka, what kind of tea do you like?”

“Any is fine,” Haru says, rubbing at his nose again. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be right back!” Miyako chimes, spinning around towards the kitchen just as Steve walks in, tail swaying back and forth. Haru’s eyes widen as he spots the cat, and then he promptly sneezes.

“Bless you,” Rin and Gou say at the same time.

“You didn’t tell me you have a cat,” Haru murmurs, staring down at the blob of black and white.

“Oh, him? His name is Steve.” Rin bends down to beckon Steve over, but he veers sharply on his path and turns to rub against Haru’s leg instead.

“He likes you!” Gou exclaims happily, poking her head out from the kitchen for just a second. “That’s a big compliment. He doesn’t even like Rin!”

“He likes me!” Rin protests, crossing his arms as she disappears behind the wall again. “He’s just particular about the way he shows it.”

“Yeah, right.”

They’re interrupted by another sneeze coming from Haru, followed by a few quick coughs. Rin frowns as Haru rubs at his nose again, a crease forming between his brows.

“You feeling okay?” he asks, nudging Haru in the side gently. “You aren’t getting sick, are you?”

“No,” Haru says, shaking his head. A few strands of silklike black hair fall in front of his face, hiding his watery eyes.

“You sure?” Rin presses the back of his hand to Haru’s cheek, checking for a fever. (It wouldn’t have worked, even if Haru was lying. His skin is naturally hotter than Haru’s.) “Then what’s wrong?”

“I’m allergic to cats,” Haru admits, eyes downcast as he shrugs Rin’s touch off.

“What? I didn’t know that.” Hand hovering halfway between his waist and his chest, Rin draws back all of his memories of their conversations and comes up empty. Haru hadn’t told him that before, had he?

“We don’t have cats where I’m from,” Haru explains with a miserable sounding sniff. “Most of us don’t have any tolerance to their hair and dandruff.”

“Shit.” Rin grits his teeth and pulls a hand through his hair, guilt settling into the pit of his stomach. “Then let’s go, Haru. We can eat out somewhere, or go back to the dorms and order something in.”

“But- your mother…”

“She’ll understand,” Rin promises, although it feels like a lie. Miyako  _ will _ understand. She’ll just be a bit disappointed that his “friend from school” couldn’t stay longer. “Your health is more important, Haru. Let’s go.”

“I…” Haru shakes his head, his shoulders drooping in defeat. “Okay,” he agrees quietly.

Rin nods sharply, hoping Haru can’t see through him. “I’ll go let them know,” he says, turning towards the kitchen. “Wait outside for me, okay?”

“Okay,” Haru says again, following it up with another sneeze. Rin barely stops himself from wincing, waiting until he hears the door close to step further into the house.

“Hey, mom,” he says, apologetic. “I’ve got some bad news.”

* * *

“Strike two?” Sousuke asks as Rin drags himself back to his dorm room later that day.

“He’s allergic to cats,” Rin grouses, dropping himself down onto his bunk and letting his head sink into his hands. “Who would’ve thought?”

“All mermaids are allergic to cats,” Sousuke says matter-of-factly. “I thought everyone knew that.”

“Then why did you have me bring him to my house?” Rin snaps, glaring.

“I never said to bring him to your house,” Sousuke points out. “I just said you should introduce him to your mom.”

“Sousuke,” Rin sighs, “you’re my best friend, but you’re shit at giving advice.”

“No kidding,” Sousuke agrees, resting his arms on the back of his desk chair. “So? What are you gonna do now?”

“I don’t know… It seems like everything I do triggers some mermaid thing for him or some ifrit thing for me. How am I supposed to take him somewhere we’ll both like when stupid biology keeps working against us?”

Rin falls back against his bed, covering his eyes with his hands. He can’t do the things that Haru wants to do, and Haru can’t do the things he wants to do. Surely there has to be some kind of compromise, something they can do together without hurting either one of them. He just has to  _ think of it… _

_ Of course! _

Rin springs up so fast he almost hits his head on the top of Sousuke’s bunk, reaching for his phone lightning fast. He feels stupid for not thinking of it before--it should have been obvious!

_ Hey, _ he types,  _ I’ve got it. _

_ Got what? _ Haru replies an agonizingly long minute later.

_ The perfect first date! _

_ But we’ve already been on two dates, _ Haru responds, and Rin can practically hear the confusion in his voice.

_ Those don’t count. Consider it a third first date, _ Rin tells him.

_ Okay… _ Haru agrees at last, albeit hesitantly.

_ Great! _ Rin types.  _ Be ready next Saturday, okay? I’ll come by your dorm at one. _

* * *

“Where are we going?” Haru asks for the fifth time as Rin pulls him around another corner.

“You’ve never been here?”

“I live in the ocean, Rin.”

“Right.” Rin can’t help the grin that spreads across his face as he stops in front of a large glass building, children and families filing in and out slowly. “Well, we’re here!”

“Where is ‘here’?” Haru asks, looking around curiously.

“You’ll see!”

Rin drags his date inside, tapping his foot impatiently as they wait in line. He’s glad he’d had the foresight to buy their tickets ahead of time--the line for the pre-registration is much shorter. Haru keeps looking around the building as if the aqua blue walls and screaming children might give him a hint as to what they’re doing here. Rin’s glad that his dad had taken him here before every year on his birthday, or he wouldn’t have remembered that it existed at all.

“Close your eyes,” Rin says once they’ve gotten their hands stamped, covering Haru’s face with one of his hands yet again. “I’ll guide you.”

“Should I be scared?” Haru quips, and Rin can feel his eyelashes flutter against his palms.

“Shut up and trust me,” he huffs, setting his other hand on Haru’s shoulder and pushing him forward gently. “You’ll love this, I promise.”

They walk through the building slowly, Rin guiding the two of them with his memory and a little help from the maps and arrows on the walls.

“You’re not lost, are you?” Haru asks after a minute or two. “Sousuke hasn’t infected you with his mental compass?”

“Nope,” Rin replies.  He knows exactly where he wants to be when Haru opens his eyes, and they’re almost there.

The tunnel is lit up a beautiful glowing blue, impossibly clear magic glass the only thing between the two of them and the stingrays and lemon sharks that swim all around them. The only other people in sight are a mother and her son, both of them at the opposite end of the tunnel.

“Okay, turn left,” Rin instructs Haru, guiding him by the shoulders. “And… Open.”

He takes his hand away just as Haru opens his eyes, sapphire blue meeting the blue of the tiny ocean around them. His mouth drops open the slightest bit as he catches sight of a three-eyed pinkish red shark swimming directly in front of them. A beautiful translucent squid pulses to the left of the shark, jumping in and out of visibility, and spiky starfish and sea urchins line the rocks at the edges of the tunnel.

“An aquarium…?” Haru whispers, wonder on his face.

“A magic aquarium,” Rin corrects. “There are all kinds of rare magic sea animals here. Although I guess you’ve probably seen a lot of them back in your ocean. But I thought it would be a nice way for us to be around the water without being  _ in _ the water, you know?”

When Haru doesn’t say anything, Rin’s stomach turns nervously. Maybe taking a mermaid to an aquarium wasn’t his best idea. What if it makes Haru homesick? What if he knows one of the animals that lives in the enclosure? God, what if they’re family friends or something? (He really should brush up on his knowledge about mermaids, he decides.)

“This is only part of the aquarium,” he continues, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just thought you’d like this part the most. You know, ‘cause it’s kind of like being in the ocean together, except it doesn’t hurt me. If you want to go somewhere else-”

“It’s perfect,” Haru breathes, barely audible, but Rin stops talking anyway. He reaches out a hand, stopping an inch away from the glass. “I love it.”

“You do?” Rin says, a grin spreading across his face. Haru stares up at the water around them, at the magical creatures swimming back and forth over their heads, casting long shadows on the ground beneath their feet. It’s beautiful, glowing blue and soft, and it makes Haru look all the more beautiful as well. He steps up next to Haru, taking his hand carefully and edging closer until their arms are pressed against each other.

“Thank you, Rin,” Haru says, turning his gaze towards Rin. As quickly as he can, he presses closer and leaves a kiss on the very corner of Rin’s mouth, squeezing his hand and turning back to stare at the sea creatures, the tips of his ears a tiny bit red.

“Of course,” Rin replies, smiling softly at him.  _ It’s like they always say, right? _ he thinks to himself.  _ Third time’s the charm. _

**Author's Note:**

> For the wonderful Aenya!! I really hope you enjoyed it and that it was close to what you were hoping for. Thank you so much, it's an honor to be able to write for you!!  
> [My Tumblr : )](https://djbunn3.tumblr.com/)


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